Friday, October 24, 2014

FFWD - Canneles for Dorie's Birthday



It's a special French Friday with Dorie this week, as today is Dorie Greenspan's birthday.  Happy birthday Dorie!

Our mission this week is to select one of the nominated recipes from Dorie's new book, Baking Chez Moi, and make and post about it.

I was pleased that one of the recipes was for canneles.  The recipe is posted online here.  I have had this on my "must make" list for a long time, and earlier this year, I had even bought a silicone mould to make my own canneles.

There has been a lot written about the difficulty of making canneles, what makes a perfect cannele, and tips and tricks for making them.  I have the fabulous advantage of having never laid eyes on a cannele in the flesh, so to speak, so I was guided entirely by Dorie's notes and the photographs that I found online.

The name of canneles comes from the fact that they are baked in moulds which make them "channelled".  Dorie says that traditionally they are baked until they turn almost as dark as nuggets of coal, and we were told to bake them until they became "very dark - black really".  This sounds counter-intuitive, but the idea is that canneles are all crispy, chewy caramelised sugar on the outside and soft and custardy on the inside.

Having never eaten a cannele before, I thought mine fitted the bill.  Of the 8 canneles that I made, two puffed up and never really fell down properly, so they were an odd shape.  The   others were certainly the right shape, and I think they were the right colour, according to Dorie's standards (cf other commentators).

However, it took an hour and a half to achieve this colour in my oven, not an hour.  I began to despair of ever getting even close, but I am happy with the end result.

I ate one of my canneles and thought it was good - it had a lovely, chewy outside and a soft, custardy middle as per Dorie's description. Now I just need to convince people at work that these little black cakes(?) are supposed to be like that and are really good. 

Check out what all the other Doristas made to celebrate by clicking on the links below:

Mini Cannelés

21 comments:

  1. Your canneles are beautiful, what a nice way to celebrate a great cook's birthday!

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  2. An hour and a half? These are not mini-es then. You did good!

    I underbaked them from the look of the pale color of mine. Baking another batch tonight!

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  3. Too funny, your coworkers may well think that you just burnt the batch:-) Might need to direct them to google so that they see how perfectly they came out. I really wanted to make this recipe but am missing any kind of mold which would make it possible. One of these days I'll need to invest in a little silicone for the kitchen.

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  4. I'm so interested in these cakes. Caramelized on the outside and custardy in the center? Sign me up! They sound awesome. Temptation to purchase the single-purpose pan building!!

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  5. Yours look pretty darned good and yes, they are supposed to be nearly burnt! So you did great!

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  6. They DO look perfect! I'm glad Dorie was so explicit in her instructions as I wouldn't have let mine get so dark!

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  7. your canneles look very pretty - I would need very little convincing to try one (but then I am a food blogger - though your crowd should have faith in your baking) - never seen them before so I have no preconceptions either

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  8. Glad your canneles turned out so well, they look absolutely delicious :D
    Need to try making them one day!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  9. Beautiful Canneles!! One of my favorite little French cakes! Your coworkers should be so lucky to have you share them! Happy Friday!

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  10. I would totally tell the folks at work that they are burned so that you can enjoy all those tasty morsels yourself :) All kidding aside, you got a lovely color to yours and the insides look glorious. Like you, I had no experience with these and relied on Dorie (as usual). Gosh these were good. My taste testers are already requesting a second batch !

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  11. They look perfect! Cannelé molds are on my wishlist, now.

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  12. I can't wait to make these - I ran out of time, but they look so delectable and the description of taste enticing! Happy FFWD Anniversary and Dorie's Birthday!

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  13. Sounds like we both relied heavily on the descriptions we read about these little cakes to get them right! I was worried about getting the right amount of darkness on the outside too. They tasted pretty good!

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  14. Looks like you had the right silicone molds, Gaye. I love how you have that good inch or two of the custardy cake encased in the crust. I've learned a lot this week!

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  15. counter-intuitive is right! I still have a hard time looking at them without cringing, but I know from all your testimonies that they are amazing, so I can't wait to try my hand at them too!!

    Happy Trifecta Celebration Day!!

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  16. They look perfect. We simply adored the canneles and I know I will be baking them again. I loved
    your trip to the market, all that food looks utterly
    scrumptious.

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  17. These look great, Gaye. I'm planning to order a mold so I can try them for myself.

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  18. I still haven't had a canneles yet. I am glad yours turned out and I hope your co-workers liked them.

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  19. I think it's amazing of you to try the canneles. I am now totally interested in making them. I made the palets, and they were really terrific. I'm sure yours were wonderful, especially with a cup of coffee or tea!

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  20. I am impressed with how many people have these molds!
    They look perfect - I am sure I would (will) have the same reaction at home when these show up.

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  21. What a fun dessert for Dorie's birthday! I have a mold for these cakes and have never used it, it was a gift from my mil and I really should just make something in it now. Nice choice.

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Thanks for dropping by!